Tis the season
by HotaruGFC
Summary: Julius hosts an annual winter celebration for the captains. Everyone sort of hates it but overall has a good time. Songs are sung, pranks are played, mistletoe is... mistletoe.


Julius sat at his desk looking at the stack of work Marx had left for him. He wanted to go out and explore and look for new magic, but something else vied equally for his attention-the annual solstice party he threw. The invitations were staring him in the face as he signed off on the stack of paperwork to his right. Nearly all of them had been written and addressed. He simply needed to place his seal and they would be sent out. He put down his pen and shuffled through the stack, looking at the name of each captain written in Marx's neat handwriting on the front. He pulled one out from the stack. His wayward protégé had sworn off attendance at these events in the last few years. Julius frowned as he read Yami's name on the card. Of his two projects, the refugee had always been a concern, especially since he was now out on his own.

Julius pulled the stiff card of the invitation and lifted his pen. He scrawled a quick note on the back before stuffing it back into the envelope. He melted the golden wax in a candle flame, watched it drip onto the seam, and pressed his seal into it.

The invitation sat unopened on the common room table when Yami walked in from the bathroom. He glanced at the white envelop as it sat in sharp contrast with the rough brown wood of the table. Of all the commotion going on in the room-nothing out of the ordinary, but still a loud and obnoxious mess-it was the stillness of the envelope which garnered his attention. The golden seal on the fine white surface seemed to glow in the flash of fire and lightning as Magna chased Luck around the room. He stared at the small rectangular shape, wary of its contents. He took a long drag on his cigarette before he leaned over a passed-out Vanessa and retrieved the summons.

He had predicted the contents when he had seen the seal. Julius had always thrown a party at this time of year. The old man had once told him winter was his favorite season, that he loved the lights, and the generosity people would put on display. Yami had to admit, parts of the holiday were infectious, though he had never really understood the purpose of the event. Still, every year Julius would host a big party. At first, he limited the shindig to only squad members, and Yami was fine with attending. But upon promotion and his widening sphere of influence, Julius also upped the scale of the event. And Yami had a difficult enough time with the other squads on the battlefield. Socially, he was a nightmare. Julius had long given him a pass on attendance, but as Yami broke the seal open on the invitation, he got the feeling this year attendance would be mandatory.

Sure enough, Julius had a handwritten note on the inside of the invitation announcing the details of the party. The note did not specifically say attendance was required, only that it was strongly encouraged.

'I would really like for you to attend, Yami.' The Wizard King had written. 'I'm only inviting the captains and vice-captains because I'm tired of the large events myself. So, please, come?'

Julius rarely asked for anything so succinctly. Yami stared at the note as he took another long drag on his smoke. He thought of all the reasons he shouldn't attend the party-and there were many-he and Jack could get in a fight again, or he could insult Nozel's hair and end up impaled, or... or... His mind raced with the possibilities. He looked down at the scrawled note. The note itself gave him one good reason to attend.

And he tried to come up with at least one more reason to refuse but failed.

He groaned as he tucked the invitation into his belt before going to find Finral in the chaos of the building.

A small portal opened up near Charlotte's head as she tried to sort out a scheduling snafu that had been brought to her attention. A small white envelop floated down to her desk. The movement, not the magic used to deliver it was what drew her attention. That and the glimmer of the golden seal. Charlotte sighed as she realized what the envelop contained, an invitation to Julius' annual Solstice party. She hated the things, though she knew she would attend this one, as she had attended every one since he had ascended to Wizard King, first as the vice-captain and a year later as a captain herself. The invitation stated this year's party was to be an understated gathering of the captains and vice captains only, as it had been the year before. While she preferred more intimate events, she also felt finding something to discuss with the other captains was difficult enough when they had to converse about a topic of national security. Making small talk with them without having a life or death situation to drive the discussion was excruciating.

And yet, Julius tried every year to bring them all together, as he said, with feelings of goodwill and fellowship, to celebrate the season as friends and brothers in arms.

Charlotte sighed as she put down the invitation again.

"Whatever makes Lord Julius happy, I guess."

The door creaked open and her second in command drew her attention from the party and back to the matters at hand.

"So, do you have to bring a date?" The spatial mage handed the note back to his captain.

"Hell, no. Did you actually read what it said?" Yami sucked on his cigarette. "The party is for captains and vice captains only. The only reason I'm telling you about it is that I need a ride."

"You don't have a vice-captain." Finral pointed out. "So who are you going to bring with you?"

Yami closed his eyes and blew out a stream of smoke into Finral's face.

"I knew you were useless in a fight; I didn't know you were an idiot too."

"Oh." Finral took a second to process the deeper meaning in Yami's words. "Oh. I get to go. Can I bring a date?"

"I don't know, Finral. Can you get a date?"

"Ouch, that was harsh. Are you feeling alright? I mean you are usually sarcastic and a bit of an asshole, but you aren't the kind of man who's mean for no reason, Yami."

Yami dropped the butt of his cigarette to the floor and stomped the lit end out with his boot before he withdrew a fresh smoke from his belt pouch and lit it. He felt a rush of bliss at the feel of the fresh, firm end of the cigarette between his lips, at the taste in his mouth.

"I don't like these sorts of things. Don't wanna go, but Julius asked, specifically, so I'm going to go even though I don't want to."

"Ah. But aren't the other captains, I don't know, your friends or something?"

"Fighting alongside people doesn't automatically make them your friends."

"I love the Solstice party!" Charlotte's vice-captain exclaimed when she had read the invitation.

"What Solstice party?" Sol asked from next to her as she leaned over to read the invitation as well.

"Every year, Lord Julius has hosted one. The last few years though he has scaled them back for just the squad command." Charlotte explained as Sol's face fell.

"You mean, I can't go?" The tall dark-skinned woman pouted.

"If I could, Sol, I would happily send you and Mira in my place."

"Can I go instead of Mira?" Sol asked. Charlotte sighed and braced herself to explain.

"I am not giving up my spot on the guest list so you can fawn all over the captain, Sol. This is quite literally my favorite event of the year and I will not miss it for the world." The vice-captain fixed the younger squad member with a harsh stare. Sol wilted beneath the pressure. Mira looked back at the invitation in her hands and then up at Charlotte with a wicked grin. Charlotte sighed, rolled her eyes and then handed Sol her new assignment before ordering the young woman back to work.

"You think he's going to be there?" Mira asked once the door had slammed shut.

"I don't know. He hasn't gone in the last couple of years."

"And it was three years ago, after that Solstice party, that you said the next time he attended, you would tell him."

Charlotte took off her helmet and placed it on the desk before her. She rocked the metal form back and forth with her index finger as she frowned at the memory.

"Do you want him to be there?"

"I... Depends I guess." Charlotte propped her chin against her fist as her other hand continued to fiddle with the helmet. "I want to see him. But that doesn't mean I want to tell him."

The shorter woman about Charlotte's age slammed her hands into the arms of her chair and leveraged herself up. She crossed the short distance between where she had been sitting and Charlotte's desk. She leaned heavily on the wooden desk and looked down at Charlotte.

"Don't lie to me. You might do a great job of lying to yourself and everyone else, but do not lie to me, Charlotte."

Charlotte looked up at her with crystalline blue eyes which still refused to give in. Mira threw her hands up in frustration before she sighed and walked away. Stopping at the door, she turned back to Charlotte.

"Two things: One, you better warm up your singing voice, because you know Lord Julius is going to force a sing-along. And two, you better tell him." She wrenched the door open and strode out purposely. The door slammed shut behind her and Charlotte was once more alone with the invitation.

Charlotte looked at the small white rectangle with its now broken golden wax seal.

"He's not going to be there anyway. Nothing to worry about." She told herself as she turned her focus back to the requisitions for the month.

Yami had pulled on a clean shirt but otherwise had done little to mark the occasion of the party. Finral, on the other hand, had done everything he reasonably could to make himself more appealing, and to demonstrate high holiday spirits. Yami shook his head as he saw his temporary vice-captain. He had tried to make it perfectly clear to Finral that his promotion was fake and only as a result of his ability to give Yami a ride.

"You think you have enough obnoxious shit?"

"You can never have enough obnoxious shit, Yami." Finral scoffed.

"Well, one of you was enough."

Finral's mouth hung open, offended.

"Sorry, I just don't want to go to this thing."

"Then take it out on the Wizard King, not me. I'm just your ride, remember?"

Yami sighed.

"Fine, let's go."

The portal opened up and they stepped through to the capital.

The scene that greeted them was one of merriment and light as the streetlights cast a warm red glow on the glistening layer of fresh snowfall. Unprepared for the nearly frictionless surface, Finral felt himself slide as he stepped onto the icy street. Yami, surefooted as a mountain goat grabbed the junior member by his collar and steadied him.

"Thanks." Finral straightened his coat, blushing in embarrassment. Yami just made a sound like a cross between a cluck and a hiss that Finral could not quite describe aside from naming it frustration.

"Let's go on then." Yami took the lead and strode down the wide avenue lined with shops and closed up stalls. Despite the inviting atmosphere of the street, the path from the market square to magic knight headquarters was nearly empty.

"I guess it's just getting dark too early to stay open for long," Finral commented as they passed shop after shop closing up for the night. Yami did not bother to answer.

"So, Yami, if the Wizard King has been hosting these events for years, why haven't I heard about them before? Finral watched Yami's back for a long time and was about to open his mouth to ask another question when Yami spoke.

"Because I've never told you about them."

"Oh." The answer was, of course, the most straightforward and simplest of explanations. And it was not at all what Finral wanted. He wanted the deep buried dirty on why Yami hated these events, and why he seemed to hate the entire holiday. As far as Finral could recall, since he had been on the squad (only a few years at the most), Yami had never actively encouraged celebrations of the holidays. He had never forbidden them from celebrations and as such, the squad headquarters often had a sad looking wreath or tree decorated with various random things the squad could find around the base.

But still, he never participated.

As Finral mused over the question, the pair arrived at headquarters. An aide directed them inside and toward a small salon. Finral was shocked to see everyone gathered into the small room. He was also shocked to realize he and Yami were late. Though he realized he probably shouldn't have been.

"You're here!" A jovial voice called out through the crowd and Finral saw the ocean of people part for the Wizard King. The older man was tall, blond, and slightly drunk with a flush of pint across the bridge of his nose. He pressed a cup into each of their hands and hugged both of them simultaneously, each with one arm around their chest and shoulder and his head between both of theirs. "I'm so happy you made it, Yami. Wish you would come to more events like this." His words slurred slightly, but not so much as to be difficult to understand.

"You know I hate people, Julius."

The wizard king simply laughed and ushered them further into the room. All of the captains were present and decked out in various levels of seasonal finery. Finral looked at Yami with a sly grin before he headed off into the crowd to mingle. The older man sighed as he looked down at his own attire, but he realized, as Julius slung his arm over his protégé's shoulder and moved him further into the room, he would not have made the effort regardless.

Charlotte heard the door creak open from the other side of the room, over the din of music and discussion, over Fuegoleon and Nozel arguing in the way she had read about secret lovers arguing. She did a quick count of the guests and noted everyone else's presence. Her heart beat rapidly as she panicked, her mind racing to the worst possible scenario. He never comes to these anymore, she thought as she turned to the sound. The invitation had said only the captains and vice captains were invited. So, she reasoned, it could only mean one thing.

As Julius moved out of her field of view, Charlotte felt her heart stop. He had come.

"Shit." She hid her muttering with her mug of hot chocolate.

"Oh, will you look at that." Mira shot her a sly grin. "Guess who's here."

Charlotte took a deep breath. He looked like he always did-rugged, strong, strangely dressed, unkempt hair, cigarette dangling out of his lips, but she could not imagine him any other way. He was a far cry from conventionally handsome with his muscular physique and careless facial hair, but the sight of him always set her heart aflutter, even before he had broken the curse if she were being honest with herself. She shrank away, trying to hide behind Mira unconsciously.

"Oh no, you don't." Mira stepped out of the way and pushed Charlotte slightly toward the door. "You promised, Charlotte and as I see, no time like the present."

Charlotte stumbled slightly as she moved forward and she took a long sip of her drink, holding it in both hands as she found her footing. She turned back to Mira, glaring and certain she shone as bright red as the candle flames lighting the room.

"And I will." She confirmed. "Eventually," she added under her breath before taking another sip. She wandered away from her vice-captain and back to the buffet table. As she picked at the food, she kept glancing toward him. Julius had pulled him, unwillingly into the room and now he sat wedged between Ril and Jack, arms crossed over his chest and a cigarette stuck between his lips. Charlotte felt her entire body grow warmer with every glance and was certain her face had grown more and more red as well. She glanced at him once more wondering just how much he might have been able to read her feelings for him. She had always tried to hide them, to lock them deep within her. She had only ever told four people in the eight years since she had realized she had fallen for him, but he was strangely perceptive about so many things. She was sure he had been able to figure it out. She glanced back at him once more, looking miserable when he suddenly stood. He caught her eye briefly before she turned her attention back to the food. She thought she had been blushing earlier, but now she could feel her cheeks burn.

She returned to where Mira had taken a seat on a plush sofa near the fireplace roaring against a wall. Nozel and Fuegoleon sat in chairs near her staring each other down as Charlotte walked between them oblivious. She had just sat down when Julius called for everyone's attention with a flourish on the piano in the center of the room.

"Sing-a-long time!" He played a progression of chords as a collective groan sounded through the room. A few of the vice-captains, Mira included, Charlotte noted, jumped up and joined around the Wizard King at the piano. They sang and laughed as they worked through various traditional songs with various levels of success. Charlotte smiled as she watched them and the fun they were having. Glancing around the room once more, she saw Yami leaning against the frame of a large window. He had a cup in his hand, the steam from it blended with the curl of smoke rising from the stub of his cigarette. A half-smile had settled on his lips which was part amused and part threatening in appearance. Charlotte wagered he was more amused by the events rather than anything. His eyes flicked toward her again and she realized she must have been staring. She turned her focus back to the plate perched on her lap and picked up a piece of fruit. She looked at it a moment, chiding herself for looking too long at him before she popped it into her mouth. She had lost track of the song as she snacked on the treats she had picked.

"Hey, Yami. Come join us." Julius prodded at his sullen protege. When Charlotte glanced back to him, along with the rest of the room, he was sipping on the steaming mug in his hand.

"I'm not nearly drunk enough, Old Man."

Julius laughed, and Charlotte thought she could see a smile peeking out from behind the mug.

"Oh well, maybe later. William! Come on over here." Julius shifted his target. As the masked captain joined in with the songs, Charlotte noticed even Nozel has also started to sing underneath his breath and Fuegoleon had given up on the constant feud and joined in the raucous singing.

The transformation had always amazed her as her fellow captains put aside the differences and rivalries for the one night and shared their wishes for the coming spring in song and laughter. Charlotte found herself smiling from the warmth and love within the room. She watched Julius leading the group in song and marveled at the look of utter joy on his face. Looking around, she remembered all of the trials and tribulations they had been through together-Julius, her fellow captains, and her as well. She knew Julius had put aside any thoughts of a family as he sought his throne, but looking at him now, she smiled, knowing the reason they were all there tonight celebrating was that they were all his family, his brothers, and sisters in arms.

As she mused, Charlotte felt a shiver go down her spine. She gasped at the feeling and felt her heart suddenly race. She felt as if someone were watching her. As she looked around, she caught Yami looking away quickly, his attention suddenly and fiercely focused on the cup in his hand. He frowned into it before he wandered to where drinks were being served.

Everyone around the piano was laughing as the song ended as half the people forgot the words and mumbled off into oblivion. Charlotte smiled into her cup filled with warm tea now instead of the hot chocolate from earlier. As she glanced covertly at Yami, she noticed he had moved from his perch near the window and was leaning against the arm of one of the large high backed chairs. He also seemed to be smiling and to have relaxed significantly. Charlotte took a deep breath as she basked in the feeling of unity in the room. she was happy, content with where she was, with her secret. Just being near him was enough, she thought. She knew Mira would want to kill her, but she also knew telling him how she felt would accomplish nothing. She felt as if nothing could spoil the night as she sipped her tea.

But she had been so caught up in her own thoughts she had paid no attention to what was happening at the piano.

"You know who has a really good voice?" Mira's voice cut through her mind's wanderings like a scythe. "Charlotte does. Best singer I've ever heard."

"What? Really?"

Charlotte cringed at the excitement in Julius' voice. He sounded as if he had discovered a new type of magic. And before she knew what was happening, Mira had pulled her up from the seat she had rooted herself in and she was standing in front of her comrades in arms, her friends and being asked for a song.

Yami had felt like he was being watched the entire night. Or at least every now and again. The room was so crowded though, so filled with the energy of everyone, he couldn't use his ability to sense ki to pinpoint where the feeling was coming from or who was watching him. Once or twice, he looked to where he thought the feeling was coming from and caught Charlotte's eye as she quickly looked away. He dismissed the thought that the person watching him could be her outright. With all of her beauty, and with all of the men who she attracted, she was a prickly of a rose as they came. And she said herself, she hated men and thought most of them were incompetent-everyone gathered included, Yami assumed. Except maybe Julius. She respected Julius for the most part.

Besides, Charlotte's emotions were an easy read as her skin gave her away far more than her voice did. So he wasn't surprised to see her flush crimson as her vice-captain pulled her up from the seat and placed her before the crowd. They were begging her to sing, as Julius was still in his sing-a-long mindset and wanted to get everyone involved. Yami took another sip of the mulled wine in his hand as he watched her sputtering in an effort to get out of the performance.

"I can make it an order, Charlotte," Julius warned with a smile. Even from a distance, Yami could see the annoyance in her expression as she shot Julius an angry look. He smirked behind his mug as he brought it to his lips. the warm liquid was soothing and filled his palate with the scent of cinnamon and clove. As he looked around, he felt himself relax, as much from the camaraderie as from the wine. He hated to admit it, but watching the scene unfold, he realized how much he had missed these little parties. He watched as Charlotte complained and everyone else either took seats or found their way to the food tables. Finral had taken up residence with the Blue Rose vice-captain. Yami didn't quite like how they had their heads together, conspiring over something.

"Alright, fine." Charlotte's frustration was evident in her voice as she turned to the crowd.

"You want accompaniment?" Julius asked from his seat on the piano bench.

"No, a Capella is fine." She took a sip of whatever she had in her mug before placing it on a small table. Yami sipped his own drink as she took a formal stance. She almost looked as if she were about to fight in how she settled her body, but her center of gravity was too high to be effective for a fight. She rolled her shoulders back and closed her eyes. She muttered something he couldn't quite make out, and then she opened her mouth to sing.

"Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?"

And her voice was like what he had imagined angels would sound like-rich and pure, resonant and deeper than he expected, but heavenly nonetheless. Everyone stopped doing what they were doing to listen.

"In the lane, snow is glistening..."

No way, he thought, amazed at her song choice.

"A beautiful sight,

We're happy tonight,

Walking in a winter wonderland."

Yami had never been one to really get what the holiday was all about, but he had grown fond of several aspects of it, including the songs. The song she had chosen to sing in particular was one of his favorites. He hated how sentimental the song was, and how it made him wistful in a way he could typically ignore, but still, something about it struck him every time he heard it. He couldn't quite put it into words, but despite everything, it was one of his favorite songs.

"Gone away is the bluebird,

Here to stay is a new bird.

He sings a love song,

As we go along,

Walking in a winter wonderland."

Once he had gotten over the astounding shock of her voice and her song choice, He found himself singing along softly, under his breath, careful to not be heard. He watched as she sang and directed her attention to those gathered close to her. She seemed like a different person, more approachable, more amiable, almost flirtatious in her movements and expression. She commanded all eyes as if her voice had put a spell on the room as a whole, a different kind of magic than the ones to which they were all accustomed. He could feel himself being drawn in by her spell, though her eyes never met his. He found himself wishing she would look at him, but she never took her attention from the first row of the audience.

"In the meadow, we can build a snowman,

And pretend that he's a circus clown

We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,

Until the other kiddies knock him down."

His head shot up and his brow furrowed in confusion. She had seemed so confident; he had never imagined she would skip an entire verse.

"When it snows, ain't it thrilling,

Though your nose gets a chilling

We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,

Walking in a winter wonderland."

Her voice trailed off and hung in the room for a moment as she finished. Yami looked at her expectantly, waiting for the rest of the song. The spell of her voice still hung in the air as Julius started to say something, but Yami's voice cut through.

"Why didn't you sing the other verse?" He asked. When Charlotte looked up at him, he could see a tinge of pink to her cheeks which had not been there during the song. Yami could feel Julius and several other people looking at him as he challenged her performance.

"What do you mean?" She stammered. the color in her cheeks deepened and Yami smirked, knowing she knew exactly what he meant.

"You know, the first verse?" He wove his way through the people who had gathered around her until he was looking down directly into her eyes. He felt his breath catch as he looked into her ice like gaze and marveled at how her eyes sparkled like the sunlight reflecting off of the snow lining the streets earlier. He took a deep breath.

"In the meadow, we can build a snowman,

Then pretend that he is Parson Brown

He'll say: Are you married?

We'll say 'No man,

But you can do the job

When you're in town'."

His voice rang out clear and strong, though not as refined as hers, not as proper. Where she had sung the words and notes perfectly from a technical standpoint and in a way objectively more beautifully than his rendition, he could feel the eyes of the crowd on him now, admiring his more casual version as well. He could feel the others looking at him, but he could not take his eyes from her. A sudden, crazy wish sprang to his mind as he sang. He wondered what it would be like to walk with her hand in hand through the snow-covered meadow he was singing about, but he knew it was always and forever a fantasy.

Charlotte stood transfixed, paralyzed as his voice dripped like deep baritone honey down into the depths of her soul. She could not take her eyes off of his and felt as if she would drown in the deep brown pits. She felt her entire body tingle and had to fight back the urge to reach out and touch him. He was close enough that it would be easy. As it was, she could feel the heat pouring off of his body, or was that her own body reacting to the nearness of him? She couldn't tell.

All she could tell was that despite the crowd listening in, his attention was squarely fixed on her.

"Later on, we'll conspire,

As we dream by the fire

To face unafraid,

The plans that we've made,

Walking in a winter wonderland."

Oh how she wanted it to be true, that they were making plans to be together, even if only for a short while, she thought as he finished up the last of the verse she had avoided. She had left it out on purpose-she always had since the day he had saved her. She couldn't bear to sing about such things anymore, knowing she was too ashamed of herself and her weakness and inability to save herself. She could not further give in to her weakness by singing about such trite things as marriage, not when marriage, in her experience, was more of a business transaction or a political tool than anything to do with love.

And while she knew he had won her heart so many years ago, she was not at all convinced they would be a good match. So she pushed the idea down deep within, so far down she forgot about it most of the time.

Until nights like tonight, she thought as she looked into his eyes. She thought she should say something clever, that now would be a good time to admit to her feelings for him.

"That's not how the tune goes." She said instead, commenting on the lack of technical skill in his performance. She could hear Mira's voice in her head and imagine the expression on her face as she wondered about how badly Charlotte could waste a perfect opportunity.

Yami rolled his eyes and shook his head, breaking the spell on her as he broke his gaze.

"It's called taking liberties."

"No, it's called improper technique." She spat back as years of training as a child rushed back to her. But despite all the years of training, she knew she had never put quite as much emotion into her voice as his dripped with. He was about to walk away when Julius cut through the start of the argument with his characteristic excitement.

"I bet you two would sound great in a duet. Hey, do 'Baby, it's cold outside'!" He said from the piano before playing a few chords.

"No," Charlotte said, turning to him. "I hate that song." Though, as much as the idea terrified her, the thought of doing a duet with Yami also thrilled her, even if she needed to sing a song she hated to experience it.

"Yeah, Julius, that song is kind of, I don't know, rapey?"

She looked up at him and her heart skipped a beat. She had always thought the same thing, about how coercive the song seemed to be as the man in it tried to convince the woman to stay. She had experienced something similar before she became a magic knight, as her father was trying to find her a husband. Fortunately, her grandmother had come to her rescue before anything more than coercion had occurred. To hear Yami also recognize the problems with the song? Well, the tingling feeling she had through her entire body as he had sung-to her, she had now convinced herself, had returned.

"But, but... Fine." Julius started to protest before pouting and moving on as a plate of beautifully decorated cookies passed by him. As Charlotte turned from the now distracted Wizard King to Yami, he had walked away toward the drink table and poured himself another mug of mulled wine. She watched his back for a moment before finding her own way back to the spot on the small sofa she had been dragged from earlier.

Another moment blown, she thought, wondering how many moments she might get to make good on her promise and if she would squander those as well.

"Dammit," Mira muttered under her breath as she watched Charlotte let the man who had stolen her affections years prior walk away from her... again.

"What's wrong?" The young mage sitting next to her glanced at her and then tried to follow her gaze. He wrinkled his brow in confusion as he tried to make out the scene. Mira knew he had come in with the Black Bulls Captain and was fairly certain the younger mage was the vice-captain. They had talked a fair amount, or at least as much as they could between songs. She had learned he was a spatial mage and his name was Finral. She also learned he was desperate for love and over-shared information when he was desperate.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." But Mira kept glancing from her captain to his. She wanted to tell him, mostly because she wanted to tell anyone, especially given how close some sort of movement on the matter had seemed to be.

"I think Lord Julius was right. They would be a nice duet." Finral said as he also looked back and forth between the pair. "Is it just me, or were they radiating some sort of crazy energy?"

"Who are you talking about?" Mira tried to act nonchalant and oblivious on the matter. She too had felt the chemistry pouring from them as they sang and in the few minutes after their voices had faded into memory.

"Yami and Captain Charlotte. There was some sort of strange tension between them."

Mira sighed and the words spilled out from her mouth.

"Charlotte has had a thing for him for, well ever."

Finral's eyebrows shot up as he looked at her.

"Really? She's had a thing for him all this time?"

"Crap, I had kept that secret for years." Mira looked into her cup of mulled wine and frowned. "I should probably stop drinking." She kicked back the last of the spiced drink, now cooled enough to swig instead of sip. "She is going to kill me if she finds out I told you."

Finral looked again from his captain to hers, trying to pick up on the subtle cues of interest either of them might be displaying.

"Are you sure? I can't tell anything from how they are acting."

"Oh, Charlotte's gotten good at hiding her emotions, but she's been keeping an eye on him all night long. I guess I could tell because I know what to look for."

Finral spent a few more minutes trying to unravel any clues in their actions but could see nothing. He knit his brows together in frustration and was so focused on his efforts he did not feel the approach of someone new.

"How are two of my most enthusiastic singers doing?" Julius said as he poked his head between theirs. Finral jumped, though Mira seemed unfazed by the Wizard King's arrival.

"We are well, Lord Julius. Thank you." Mira said with a smile before turning her attention back to observing the pair.

"The party is wonderful, Sir." Finral stammered. Julius turned to him and looked him over for a moment.

"You're in Yami's squad, yes? How is he getting along?"

"Yes, Sir. I am, but I'm not sure I know what you mean."

Julius smiled and Finral could see infinite patience in the older man's eyes, also infinite sadness and wisdom.

"Is Yami happy? Does he have someone special in his life? I know he's a private person, but surely you have some inkling? What is he doing with his life?"

Finral muttered and stalled as he thought. Though he had often been employed as Yami's personal transport, Finral did not think Yami had allowed him to be privy to such personal information.

"I don't really know much, Sir. As you said, he's a private person. I mean, I know he spends most of his time gambling or drinking. And sleeping. He sleeps a lot."

The Wizard King grunted and frowned.

"No special lady in his life? Well, I guess it doesn't have to be a lady, but no one special that he meets up with? No one that makes him happy?"

Finral shook his head. He had moved Yami around many times to many different places but never had he noticed Yami meeting up with anyone aside from random gambling partners.

"No, at least not to my knowledge."

Julius sighed.

"What about Charlotte? She as prickly as ever, Mira?"

"Absolutely. I mean, one of the newer recruits is obsessed with her, but as far as I can tell, she only has feelings for one person. I was hoping she would come forward tonight, but..." Mira shrugged, but then noticed how the time mage's seemed to bounce between the pair she had been observing all night.

"We should do something about that." Julius decided, nodding in confirmation of the idea.

"You mean, get them to go out on a date?" Mira suggested. Finral looked at them, his eyes wide.

"How exactly do you plan to do that?" He asked.

"It doesn't have to be a date, just a kiss would be enough, I think." Julius tapped his chin in thought

"How do you propose we convince them to kiss? It's not like Charlotte is just going to let him kiss her randomly."

Julius sighed. The trio watched them from a distance for a while. Yami and Charlotte were clear on the other side of the room from each other, but even from the distance, Finral could finally see what the Blue Rose Vice-Captain had been talking about. As he watched, he noticed furtive glances Charlotte cast toward his boss, glances which were quickly broken every so often as Yami turned toward her. He turned his attention from the blond woman to his captain only to be surprised to find him casting her glances as well.

"Well, I'll be damned," Julius muttered as they all played a game of tennis with the looks the pair kept giving each other. One would glance and perhaps allow their eyes to linger only to turn away when caught, which left them open to the looks by the other. "He is definitely into her. I've seen him look at women before, and at enemies and friends. I've never seen him look quite so lost as when he looks at her."

Finral watched his boss for a while and found he concurred with the Wizard King's assessment.

"So how do we bring them together?" he asked. The Wizard King pulled a small sprig of green ovoid leaves on thin stubby branches studded with small white berries from somewhere up his sleeve

"Tis the season, right?" Julius grinned as he looked at the small bit of mistletoe.

"Don't know if Yami would actually do anything other than ripping it down. I would be surprised if he didn't avoid it like the plague."

"Maybe not, but Charlotte is a stickler for traditions. That was the only reason I was able to convince her to sing."

Julius looked around the room, paying special attention to the ceiling beams.

"There's got to be a way," Julius muttered before he snapped his fingers. He pointed at a heavy wooden beam. "There's our ticket. Finral, you're a spatial mage, right?"

"Last I checked, yeah."

"Can you get this up there? Just tack it in?

"I've never worked with something like this or where I manipulated material through the portal, but I guess it would serve as a good experience."

"Alright. Now we just have to get them there somehow."

Her voice still echoed through his ears as Yami fixed himself yet another cup of mulled wine. As much trouble as the memory of her voice was being, he was still filled with dread over his impromptu performance.

Why did she have to pick his favorite winter song?

He sipped on his newly refreshed cup as he made his way back to the window where he could observe what was going on in the room without being too conspicuous. He saw Finral talking with Julius, which worried him. Julius had the look like he was plotting something, and with him being borderline drunk, Yami was concerned just what that something might be.

The woman who had been sitting with them had gotten up and walked over to where Charlotte was nibbling on a cookie. Yami tracked her with his eyes but looked away quickly as he felt them wandering over Charlotte. He did not want to be caught ogling her, especially not after what had happened. But he couldn't stop glancing. She had dressed far more casual than he had seen her in a long time. He couldn't remember a time in the last few years where he had seen her without her armor, much less with her hair down as well. He had heard in recent years of people talking about her as the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. He had always thought she was pretty, but something about her tonight made him agree with the assessment.

She turned and met his eyes and he froze.

Shit, he thought. He clenched his jaw and tried to look away. He wanted to look away, but he was trapped in her stare. He watched as her eyes narrowed and she walked over to him.

''What are you doing?" She hissed as she looked up at him. Her eyes flashed, her cheeks were flushed red and her lips were pursed. He tried to keep his focus on her eyes, but he couldn't stop the glance down to her lips and body. He tried to hid the look behind a sip of his wine. He knew the wine wasn't strong enough to go to his head, but he felt a little dizzy and light-headed as his heart raced.

"I, nothing. I was just thinking."

"You were staring at me."

"No. I was staring into space, where you just happened to be." Smooth, really smooth, he thought, wondering if this was how Finral felt all the time.

"Well stop it."

Yami felt a surge of magic near him, but it was gone before he could pinpoint it. The feeling, however, had managed to break her spell on him as he looked for the magic which had been cast. Her glare never left him as he looked around for the now lost feeling of expended mana. When he looked at her again, her eyes were flashing, her lips quivered, and her cheeks were crimson-with anger he assumed.

"Hey, Boss?" An uncertain voice called out from the spot where he had seen Julius talking to Finral earlier. As he looked at his ride, Finral seemed to squirm more than normal. An awkward smile was plastered on his face as he pointed upward with a single finger. "Look up," Finral said, with a flinch as if the mere words caused him great pain. Julius still leaned against the back of the sofa with a mischievous grin plastered on his face. Yami knit his brows together as he tried to figure out what Finral was trying to tell him, but the spatial mage only gestured once again, pointing up at the ceiling. As he turned, his eyes passing over Charlotte on the way to seeing what Finral was talking about, he saw that her face had blanched and she was staring, open-mouthed at a spot above his head. Yami followed her wide-eyed gaze.

The sprig of green hanging over his head was one of the traditions of the Clover Kingdom he did not quite understand. The idea that a bit of a dying plant was a signal to steal a kiss was ludicrous to him, sort of like the tradition of bringing in a large dead tree and putting candles and shiny baubles on it. Some parts of the holiday he enjoyed, even if they didn't make much sense, but others, like this one, still baffled him after all these years.

He heard Charlotte's weight shift next to him and when he looked back at her, she was blushing again, like she had been when he had sung with her.

Though it was more like to her, wasn't it?

"This tradition is so stupid," he said, or rather was going to say, until he felt her lips pressing against his, cutting him off. He froze a moment, trying hard to look at her, but he felt his eyes go cross and decided to close them instead. Now robbed of his vision, he was drawn more fully into the feel of her lips on his, the smell of her hair, the warmth of her skin, the pressure of her hand now resting against his chest.

He was overwhelmed by the nearness of her and found himself kissing her back. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, lingering in the feel of her against him for what he felt might be too long. He pulled away, wondering if his cheeks were as flushed as hers usually were since he could feel the heat in them. He took a steadying breath before opening his eyes. He was met by her crystalline blue orbs.

"It might be stupid, but it's still a tradition." Her voice was breathless as she spoke. She lingered a moment, not moving in his loose embrace, her hands against his chest. She held his gaze a moment before extracting herself from his arms. Quickly she turned away and hurried back to her compatriot.

Yami stood fixed to the spot. His forehead was wrinkled and he was lost in thought. He licked his lips, but could still feel the pressure of hers against them, as if her presence had been burned into the very fabric of them. He clenched and relaxed his jaw a couple of times as his eyes found her. She had taken a seat on one of the other small sofas in the salon, but her back was to him. She was saying something to her vice-captain, but from the distance and through the noise of other discussions, he couldn't make out what it was.

He wanted to ask her why she had done it, why she had kissed him. He knew the answer; she had told him. It was the tradition. The bigger question was one he couldn't quite ask, and one she certainly couldn't answer.

"I need a cigarette," he muttered to whoever might have been listening before he made his way to the balcony.

"You didn't tell him." Mira crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back against the scroll-work arm of the high backed sofa for two.

"I kissed him." Charlotte landed heavily into the seat next to her but quickly perched on the firm rounded edge of the velvet covered piece. "Oh, gods, I kissed him." She swallowed hard as her disbelief consumed her. She rubbed her stomach as she felt bile rise within her. She felt sick, not because she was disgusted with kissing him-that had been better than she had expected it to be. Her stomach turned, instead, from the embarrassment, she felt over her actions.

"But you still didn't tell him." Her friend pointed out once more. "Charlotte, you promised you would tell him."

"How can I be more obvious? I mean, I kissed him for crying out loud. In front of everyone." Charlotte's hands shook. She tucked them beneath her arms as she hugged herself. Her face was flushed red and she was thankful her hair was loose to cover it. She remembered looking up as his underling pointed to the exposed beam above Yami's head. She had felt the rush of magic in use as he had, but her anger or embarrassment had blinded her. And that moment of blindness had shown her how much of a failure she was. Her actions after seeing the sprig of misletoe replayed in her mind in slow motion, from her recognition of the small bit of plant to drawing her eyes across his jaw and throat as he also looked up. She made her decision to act in less time it took her to exhale or to see the subtle pumping of his artery in his neck. She readied herself as he turned back to her, his voice sounding like gibberish in her ears as she moved. She had only indented the kiss to be brief, light as she lifted herself up to meet his lips. She could feel him hesitate at her touch, briefly, for a moment, but for a moment which seemed like an eternity. She had been sure at that moment that she had gotten her answer to a question she had held unspoken in her heart for years. She opened her eyes just enough to see his slide shut before he kissed her back.

And suddenly everything had changed.

She felt herself melting into him, matching him, complimenting him, their bodies locked in a duet their voices had been denied. She did not want it to end, but she knew it couldn't last. He pulled away first, but she widened the gulf between them as she pushed herself out of his embrace and away from his touch. He stood there, looking at her in confusion even as she told him her excuse. Tradition? Yeah, sure. She soothed herself by saying it was tradition, but the word was a weak balm for her pounding heart and her burning skin. The tradition was convenient, a way to get what she wanted, to do what she needed, to say what she meant to say without saying a thing.

And now she was being accused of saying nothing at all. But really she had said everything in the kiss.

"Alright, fine." Mira relented with a sigh. Charlotte could feel her friend's cool eyes on her, curious and calculating. "And was it enough?"

Enough? Charlotte thought. Enough of what? She was still shaking from the encounter, still quivering from his touch and its sudden absence. Of course, it wasn't enough, she thought, but when she glanced over to where he had been standing beneath the mistletoe, he was gone.

"Of course it was. My curiosity is now satisfied. I can move on." She found herself saying even as she accused herself of being a liar. Mira simply looked at her with a raised eyebrow and hid her disbelief behind her cup of cheer.

Yami looked out over the city below all covered in snow and glistening lights. The sounds of merriment as the people-commoner and noble alike celebrated the season floated on the chilly breeze as he sucked in on his cigarette and let the fiery air burn his lungs. The smoke burned almost as much as her touch. His head still reeled from the kiss she had given him. It had been the last thing he had expected to happen when he walked through the door that night, even more so than his impromptu performance.

No, he realized. The thing he had expected the least was kissing her back. She had said it was tradition which had prompted her, but he had no such ties to the trappings of the celebration. He even thought the tradition which she claimed was utterly ludicrous.

And yet, he returned the kiss with equal ferocity, perhaps more.

He sucked in on the cigarette once more as the glass door to the balcony creaked open. Julius stepped out and stood next to him in silence. Yami had the feeling Julius was waiting for him to say something. Standing with him now, Yami was certain Julius had a hand in everything that had happened-the time mage usually did somehow. But Yami stood stoic and silent.

"So," Julius said eventually as the silence grew too much for him to bear. "That was some kiss."

"Yep." Yami exhaled a long plume of smoke but refused to elaborate.

"You going to talk to her?"

"Nope." He inhaled and let the burning air scorch his lungs once more. "It was tradition, right?" he said. "Nothing more."

But is it really? He let out another long exhale and watched the smoke curl into the night air. He didn't want to admit it, but he had kind of liked the feel of her in his arms. But the way she stormed off afterward, well, he had not found it encouraging, even if he thought he saw something in her eyes he had never noticed before. He sighed as he flicked the ash from the end of the cigarette before returning it to his lips.

He didn't have to look at Julius to feel the expression of disappointment on his mentor's face.

"You sure? I hate to see you lonely, Yami."

"Yeah, I'm sure." He hated lying to Julius, but he wasn't exactly sure of anything anymore. "And I'm not lonely."

"You know what I mean."

"Maybe you should look after yourself first, old man."

Julius chuckled.

"Maybe," The time mage said, his voice wistful. He leaned on the railing and looked out over the city in silence for a moment before standing. "Anyway, I should get back to the party. You coming?"

Yami wanted to see Charlotte again, to repeat the events from earlier, to see if what he had felt was something real. But he also wanted to leave and get his head in order before he went chasing phantoms. He shook his head.

"As expected." Julius crossed the short distance to the large glass door but he stopped just short of going in. He turned back over his shoulder to Yami.

"You two should really consider a duet sometime. It doesn't have to be a holiday song. I just think you would, I don't know, work well together. Maybe in more ways than one?"

Yami sighed as he flicked the butt of his cigarette over the railing before hunting down Finral and taking his leave for the night.


End file.
